Generals, The: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II

Several books have been written commemorating and retelling of the significance of the greatest leaders that have lived and experienced the most pinnacle moments in history. A few titles bear the same titles but the contents within the book are quite different. Such is the case with Winston Groom’s recent biography of the three most notable generals of the United States Army, which Grooms writes of the first and foremost trait that each men possessed, they earned their schooling and training at the military academy at West Point and Virginia Military Institute and second, each fought in the First World War within the same campaigns but separate and respective commands, George S. Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall and by the Second World War one would earn the distinction of four star general and two five star generals of the Army. This is their story and their life as they undoubtedly interconnected. The Generals pivots the roles of Patton, MacArthur, and Marshall to a level of understanding that is in need of acknowledgment more than 70 years after they achieved monumental victory within two fronts of World War II. The book does not focus on new findings that have been uncovered in presidential or archival libraries, but specifically tells the story to readers of three men that have been compared to the most historic figures in history, especially ancient history; Groom begins and sets the historic backdrop to ancient times and Alexander the Great as the epitome of leadership and the warrior spirit that contributed to his most notable role as a general. And what has that have to do with the generals depicted in the book? Each men that Groom writes of shared similar aspirations as young men before they set foot within the halls, rooms, and fields in which they, too, would lead armies of men within rugged terrain that would promote them to higher heights and more natural terrain where they would have to fight with their most bitter enemy to the end. Dramatic as it may it may seem, one does not have to go into too much detail with these generals. But for further insight, for readers that may not have delved within the individual biographies of Patton, MacArthur, or Marshall, the interconnectedness that they have in common shows in the chapter “Courage was the Rule”, imagine WWI and the Battle at Meuse-Argonne and the offensive that took place between September 26 to November 11, 1918, quite interesting. And besides that historic event, one must also backtrack to the lives of each men and other commonalities, they were one of the last of the fighting soldiers that grew up in a day and age that had long passed by the time WWII commenced but continued to carry on as strong-willed soldiers that had fathers or relatives of the US Civil War or grew up within the frontier. After reading The Generals, readers may see another perspective of how war was fought and the men that were responsible for leading their men and the world towards peace in spite of the costs that they will have lived to retell. And Winston Groom writes his narrative to continue to tell their stories. It is an enjoyable book for the curious history aficionado that provides a condense biography of each men but with concise detail.

The author humanizes these towering figures. I read this in one sitting Well worth a permanent place in one's library

Groom is a masterful storyteller; this book is no exception. He takes the reader through the paths of the men, their ponderous careers leading up to WWII, their small roles in WWI as well as their personal lives. The sections on their personal lives is enlivened with personal correspondence forming a large part of this material. I was disappointed Eisenhower wasn't included, as the leading Generals of WWII cannot be discussed absent Eisenhower in my opinion. I recommend this book if you're a reader of WWII history. It's excellent in that it goes into great details concerning specific battles. That said, it doesn't reveal the extent Eisenhower had to manage Patton on multiple occasions. Marshall was only in the Field for inspections, not managing battles or larger Campaigns. This is not to diminish his role--he was crucial to Roosevelt and could not be spared to lead the Normandy assault, hence the task fell to Eisenhower though many believe he was FDR's first choice. I contend this book would have been better with Eisenhower included. In a perfect world, it would have included all four, though it would have pushed the book to well over 1000 pages, therefore, I give it 4 stars, as the material presented was excellent, I merely wanted more!

This is a beautifully written, thoroughly researched and documented, interwoven biographical history of three of the greatest military leaders of the twentieth century – George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall. It spans their service in three wars – World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. I admittedly plodded my way through it at a glacial pace, studying maps and battle plans, and rereading many sections in an attempt to integrate the events into time, place, and context. This should warn the casual reader that this is not light reading, but fulfillment from the historical knowledge acquired is worth every minute of the effort required. I highly recommend this book and this author for anyone with an interest in U.S. twentieth century history. – David B. Crawley, M.D. – Author of “Steep Turn: A Physician’s Journey from Clinic to Cockpit” and “A Mile of String: A Boy’s Recollection of his Midwest Childhood.”

This is an excellent parallel stories work about Patton, Marshall & MacArthur. Though I'm not sure why the author restricted his study to these three (one could make the argument for adding Eisenhower and Bradley, et al.), still he does an excellent job in keeping it interesting. Relying heavily on published works (like Carlos D'este for Patton, etc.), the author manages to examine and provide a neutral perspective, which adds much to the work. Obviously not very in depth as such a work would be thousands of pages, nevertheless, it is still provides excellent analysis and observations. Highly recommended, even for those who have read all the lengthy bios of these warriors.

Good book! Winston Groom gives a good picture of the backgrounds of three major players in the U.S. Army during WW II and how those backgrounds placed each of these generals in a very important place during the war. I recently read The Admirals by Walter Borneman, which gives a different slant on the war in the Pacific. For once I got beyond Mr. MacArthur's egotism and got a much better picture of him and his place in our nation's recent history. The stories of Marshall and Patton were also quite good.

Poignant, unforgettable visions into the lives of three great American military leaders who were first among the great captains of WWII and in the case of George Marshall and Douglass MacArthur, the first decade after the war. The author is fair in his characterizations. Neither glossing over the foibles or character twerks of his subjects nor lionizing their accomplishments. This book reads like a novel and provokes emotional responses in the reader that are not usuly found in a historical or biographical tome. A very enjoyable read that is also well documented, serious history.

I was very pleased with this well written and engaging book. Books of this nature can be a risk sometimes, you might be buying something that just rolls on and on without capturing your interest, that was not the case here. The author gives just the right amount of family history for each general; enough for you to get a sense of how their past impacted their performance decision making later in life, but not so much that it gets tedious. This left me wanting more, the sign of a great book! I'm off to start reading "The Admirals" now, which I purchased because I enjoyed this book so much.

Marvellous. Concentrating on the top commanders and how they won the wars against germany, italy and japan.

It’s like the highlights of the 3 fantastic careers , with so many achievements and lessons to learn applied to almost every situation in life . I’ll recommend it to my wife , sons & to anyone willing to observe and learn

Good